49ers rout Cardinals in Brock Purdy's return

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Skyy Moore nearly upstaged Brock Purdy’s comeback and Arizona homecoming. Moore returned Sunday’s opening kickoff 98 yards before getting tackled a yard shy of the goal line.

Enter: Purdy.

Purdy, after missing the past six games with an injured big toe on his right foot, promptly handed the ball off to Christian McCaffrey for a 1-yard touchdown run and the San Francisco 49ers were on their way to a 41-22 rout of the host Cardinals.

Purdy threw three touchdown passes, but he certainly shared the scoring spotlight. McCaffrey scored three touchdowns (1-yard run, 9-yard catch, 4-yard run), George Kittle had two touchdown receptions and, before leaving with a hamstring injury, kicker Eddy Pineiro made three field goals to improve to 2 for 21 on the season.

Less than five minutes into this NFC West meeting, Purdy threw a 30-yard touchdown dime to Kittle for a 13-0 lead, and, as has been the case all season long, the 49ers (7-4) were destined to avoid a second straight defeat.

The 49ers’ defense yielded an NFL-record 47 completions to Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (on 57 passes for 452 yards), but Malik Mustapha and Deommodore Lenoir nabbed interceptions, and a third takeaway came when Upton Stout forced a fumble at the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter.

All in all, the 49ers showed no sympathy for the injury-depleted and penalty-prone Cardinals (3-7) who are playing without their top three offensive players — quarterback Kyler Murray, wide receiver Marvin Harrison and running back James Connor – as well as linebacker Mack Wilson.

Next up is the 49ers’ first Monday night game this season, against the Carolina Panthers (6-5) at Levi’s Stadium.

As lopsided as this game was from the outset, it wasn’t injury-free like their previous Sunday’s defeat to the Los Angeles Rams. Linebacker Tatum Bethune left with a second-quarter ankle injury and Pineiro sustained a hamstring injury to his right leg after an exhaustive day featuring three field goals (48, 47, 47 yards), two point-after kicks and two point-after misses (one block).

Not only did the 49ers got off to their quickest lead ever under Kyle Shanahan (7-0 in 16 seconds; 13-0 in 5:09), their most first-half points of the season staked them to a 25-10 halftime lead.

Purdy finished with 200 yards on 19-of-26 passes with no interceptions and just one sack.

McCaffrey had 81 rushing yards (13 carries) and 40 receiving yards (five catches).

Kittle’s six catches on six targets went for 67 yards, and his two scores gave him 50 career touchdowns; he joins Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens as the only 49ers with 50 touchdowns and 500 receptions.

Moore popped the cork on this onslaught with his return of the opening kickoff to the 1-yard line, where he got caught from behind by cornerback Kei’Trel Clark. That prevented the 49ers’ first touchdown on a kick return since Richie James in 2018, and the first to open a game since Allen Rossum’s 104-yard score in the 49ers’ 2008 visit here, a 29-24 defeat. Keying Moore’s lane up the middle were blocks by Jake Tonges and Luke Gifford.

McCaffrey then dashed in for a 1-yard touchdown run past the right side blocks of Dominick Puni and Colton McKivitz. It was his fifth rushing touchdown of the season, and his fifth receiving touchdown would come 15 minutes later on a 9-yard pass from Purdy for a 19-7 lead.

Once Purdy kept that second series alive with a third-down, 25-yard completion to Jauan Jennings, Purdy dropped a 30-yard pass over George Kittle’s shoulder near the front right pylon for a 13-0 lead; the point-after kick got blocked.

Then the 49ers’ defense reverted into last game’s six-touchdowns-allowed form: The Cardinals drove 72 yards in nine plays and five minutes, keyed by a 34-yard catch against Upton Stout and capped by a 6-yard touchdown run from Zonovan Knight for a 13-7 ballgame.

Purdy did not seem hindered by the right big toe injury that sidelined him eight games overall this season. Even with a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter, Purdy was still rolling out with his familiar mobility. One scare came on the 49ers’ third series, but he showed no discomfort after his throwing hand got hit by Josh Sweat’s left hand, on a third-down completion for no gain to Ricky Pearsall.

Purdy had a perfect 158.3 passer rating thorugh the first period, and he pumped the lead to 19-7 with a 9-yard touchdown pass to McCaffrey, who found himself wide open thanks to Kittle’s open-field contact with linebacker Cody Simon.

After Pineiro had a point-after kick blocked for the second straight game, his next attempt sailed wide right, keeping the 49ers’ lead at 19-7 only 1:21 into the second quarter. Pineiro made field goals on three consecutive possessions (48, 47, 47 yards) to up the 49ers’ lead to 28-10.

The Cardinals were threatening the 49ers’ red zone when Lenoir cut in for a third-quarter interception and returned it 64 yards to the Cardinals 14-yard line. That theft, combined with Mustapha’s just before halftime, marked 49ers’ first game with two interceptions in over a year (Oct. 27 vs Dallas).

The Cardinals’ 11th penalty before halftime afforded Pineiro a do-over after a 62-yard attempt got blocked, and after his ensuing 47-yarder barely slipped past the hand of 6-foot-8 Calais Campbell, Pineiro had an emphatic emotion before an official pulled him from the action.

For the first time in four games, the 49ers’ defense did not yield a point on its opening possession, instead forcing a punt that set up another quick touchdown drive.

Of all the Cardinals’ penalties, perhaps their most deflating was a holding call that nullified a 60-yard, fourth-and-1 touchdown run from Knight.

The 49ers scored 16 consecutive points before Jacoby Brissett threw touchdown passes to tight end Trey McBride (10 yards) and Greg Dortch (17 yards) in the fourth quarter.

A bigger quibble with the 49ers’ defense came much earlier, in the second quarter. After a third-down stop, Renardo Green drew an unnecessary roughness penalty for tussling with McBride. Green got benched for a series and verbally scolded by defensive backs coach Daniel Bullocks and Shanahan.

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